I have placed orders (unique to each school) after attending each LEEMC event
I have placed smaller orders from Baker & Taylor to acquire materials requested by faculty and/or to replace damaged holdings that were deemed necessary to replace
After attending the Vendor Preview on October 23, I placed separate orders for both schools from Capstone and Scholastic
I agreed with the other elementary librarians that adding the National Geographic Kids Database was a worthy addition to our collection
Working With Staff to Identify New Materials for the Library Collection
At both schools, I have explored and ordered resources requested by faculty members
At Fernway Elementary, I worked with the kindergarten team, our IB coordinator, and Kristen Roope in deciding to purchase a series of IB-themed books that will be used for the lower grade levels
In response to an interest from multiple elementary physical education teachers in a series of health/fitness books, I worked with Fernway's physical education teacher and the other elementary librarians in deciding one set of these books could be shared by all elementary physical education teachers
These books were purchased, with approval from Principal Florence, for Mercer Elementary, with the understanding that they can be loaned to the other District elementary schools as requested
Book Review Process
I make decisions about which books to add to the collection based on a variety of considerations. I read book reviews in various professional journals, paying particular attention to the topics addressed in the book and the suggested grade levels. At each LEEMC event, I personally handle 500+ books to get a better sense of their quality and content. Finally, I consider what I see students reading each week in the library, as well as the topics that I know each grade level will be examining throughout the year.
Analysis of Collection Management
It has been a challenge and a learning experience to manage two different school budgets and collections while in my first year with the District. I am meeting this challenge by involving the other elementary librarians and library aides who have a longer history with the two libraries. When deciding on additions or subtractions to either collection, I consider their opinions, whether the resource is useful and desirable to the collection, whether a similar resource already exists, if the resource is of a high and/or accurate quality, and the budget situation for each collection.
Weeding
In coordination with Kristin Roope and Claudia McCord, I developed a plan to weed the Picture Book and Fiction collections at the Fernway library. This was a targeted priority for this year because the Fernway library has limited space and has not conducted a thorough weeding recently.
Claudia prepared a list of picture books that were published before 2004 with one or fewer check-outs since our circulation system was computerized (approximately 2004)
Claudia helped me to pull all of the books on that list and I reviewed them for quality, content, and condition
I weeded approximately 300 titles from the Picture Book collection
I prepared two SIRSI reports to guide the weeding of the fiction collection
Items that have not been checked out since March of 2012
Items that have been checked out a total of 2 or fewer times
Using these lists as a framework, I am halfway through weeding the fiction collection
~175 titles have been discarded from the collection to date
Kristen Roope checks all of the titles I have selected to cancel before they are discarded
Weeding will be completed by Friday, June 29
In accordance with my professional growth plan, I will conduct an inventory of the Fiction and Picture Book Collections by June 10, 2015
Collection Reports
A report showing the age of the Fernway collection, overall and by category, can be found below. I've edited this report to also show the total quantity of each item category in the library.
Working With Staff to Identify New Materials for the Library Collection
Book Review Process
I make decisions about which books to add to the collection based on a variety of considerations. I read book reviews in various professional journals, paying particular attention to the topics addressed in the book and the suggested grade levels. At each LEEMC event, I personally handle 500+ books to get a better sense of their quality and content. Finally, I consider what I see students reading each week in the library, as well as the topics that I know each grade level will be examining throughout the year.
Analysis of Collection Management
It has been a challenge and a learning experience to manage two different school budgets and collections while in my first year with the District. I am meeting this challenge by involving the other elementary librarians and library aides who have a longer history with the two libraries. When deciding on additions or subtractions to either collection, I consider their opinions, whether the resource is useful and desirable to the collection, whether a similar resource already exists, if the resource is of a high and/or accurate quality, and the budget situation for each collection.
Weeding
In coordination with Kristin Roope and Claudia McCord, I developed a plan to weed the Picture Book and Fiction collections at the Fernway library. This was a targeted priority for this year because the Fernway library has limited space and has not conducted a thorough weeding recently.
Collection Reports
A report showing the age of the Fernway collection, overall and by category, can be found below. I've edited this report to also show the total quantity of each item category in the library.